Congratulations 

Congratulations to Kellie Keeffe who has been appointed as the substantive Deputy Principal at Monash Primary School. I would like to thank Kellie for her contribution to our school. Kellie has been integral to the implementation of SpellEx, supporting the PBL team and leading the senior school.  Kellie’s last day at Charles Weston School will be Friday 27 June. I am sure you will join me in congratulating and thanking her. Recruitment is currently under way to fill the Deputy Principal position that Kellie has been acting in and I hope to be able to update the community further on the outcome of this process by the end of term.

Reporting

Semester one reports for students in P-6 will be emailed out on Wednesday 2 July 2025.  

Learners who are still becoming proficient in English will receive an EAL/D report as part of their Semester two report. This term we have been working with the EAL/D team from the Education Support Office to make sure every teacher can support EAL/D learners in their class.  Please speak to your child’s teacher if you would like to know more information about your child’s progress in learning English.  Learning English takes time, and your child will progress at their own rate.  A strong knowledge of a first language helps learn a second langauge.  I encourage you to have a look at the Parent Factsheet ‘Using your home language with your child’ which is linked here. 

Over the past few weeks, our teaching staff have been working to complete the Term 2 reviews of Individual Learning Plans (ILPs). These reviews involve reflecting on each student’s progress, celebrating their achievements, and making any necessary adjustments to goals and support strategies to ensure their continued growth and success.   Families of students with ILPs will receive the updated plans shortly, and I encourage you to connect with your child’s teacher if you have any questions or would like to discuss the changes in more detail.

Student Led Conferences will be held in Week 1 Term 3.  Details on how to book a time for you and your child to meet with their teacher will be sent out before the end of term.

IB Learner Profile and Approaches to Learning

At CWSC we want to ensure students become learners who are prepared for the future, both academically and socially. The IB PYP Framework supports our teachers to facilitate this through the development of the Approaches to Learning (ATL) and the Learner Profile Attributes among students and the broader learning community. Over the last year through our Professional Learning Community, teachers have been focusing on growing their understanding and application of the ATL within teaching and learning.

This semester, student academic reports will represent the ATL in place of the Personal and Social Capabilities. Whilst these are quite similar, as an IB school we are required to report formally on the ATL. The skills that will be shown on reports will be: social skills, research skills, thinking skills, communication skills and self management skills. Within each of these are sub-skills, specific to each of the main skill eg thinking. These sub-skills will be represented on reports and are developmentally appropriate for each year level.

Teachers may also include a comment detailing how a student has performed a skill in a lesson or part of their learning.

At Charles Weston School we are committed to developing the IB Learner Profile attributes, empowering our students to be:

• Caring
• Principled
• Balanced
• Knowledgeable
• Thinkers
• Inquirers
• Communicators
• Reflective
• Open-Minded
• Risk-Takers

The learner profile supports students in developing international-mindedness and in taking action for positive change. Exercising their agency, students take ownership of their learning, express their ideas and opinions, and reflect on their development of the learner profile attributes.

The CWSC learning community supports and nurtures students in developing and demonstrating the attributes of the learner profile in ways that are relevant to the local context and appropriate for each student’s development stage. All members of our learning community play an important part in valuing, appreciating, demonstrating and celebrating the learner profile in action.

Our students have a range of opportunities to develop, demonstrate and reinforce attributes of the learner profile in the daily life of the CWSC learning community. For example, these opportunities arise:

• as part of the school curriculum—through the transdisciplinary units of inquiry and through subject-specific investigations
• through interactions in a variety of learning spaces—in their classroom, our library, music, drama and Japanese rooms, indoor hall and outdoor spaces
• through social interactions—break times, participating in sporting teams and interest groups/clubs and attending excursions such as museum visits, interschool sports events, camps
• through school events—assemblies, cultural days, sports days
• at home and in the wider community—interactions with family, friends, local businesses, sports clubs, interest groups.

Parent Communication with school

It is important to us that we work in partnership with parents and carers. 

We recognise however that it can often be difficult communicating with teachers because they have a very full timetable; and that parents and carers also have very busy lives.

We will always work to get back to your enquiries within a reasonable timeframe. We aim to do this within 3 working days. If your matter is urgent we will get back to you as quickly as possible.

Query and concerns communication steps

Step 1- Speak to your child’s classroom teacher.

You can contact the front office on 6142 0404 for a message to be passed onto your child’s teacher or email your child’s teacher using the format firstname.lastname@ed.act.edu.au

Step 2 - Discuss your query or concern with the relevant team leader.

You can email charles.weston@ed.act.edu.au for your email to be forwarded onto the correct person

Preschool and Kinder

• Karina Maciver

Years 1 and 2

• Marilyn Smith

Years 3 and 4

• Paul Campbell

Years 5 and 6

• Kellie Keeffe

Step 3 - Discuss your query or concern with the principal.

• Laurel Rodrigues

Have a lovely long weekend.

Kind Regards,

Laurel